How to Love
by Sammy1792
Summary: Set right after Alpha Male. Aqualad is struggling with his role as leader when he gets an unexpected visitor. Kaldur/Artemis. One shot. Rated T for one cuss word and kissing. Inspired by Lil Wayne's song How to Love. Please R&R!


**This is a one-shot I wrote inspired by Lil Wayne's How to Love. Hope you like it!**

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><p><strong>How to Love ~ Understanding<strong>

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><p>An ornate, burnished frame held a photo of a girl with short, auburn hair. Her cyan eyes a paradox - soft yet piercing. The name 'Tula' written across the upper left corner of the picture in an elegant script.<p>

Tula, his friend of many years. Tula, his best friend's girlfriend. Tula, the girl who'd crushed his heart.

Kaldur sighed, replacing the picture upon his night stand. Tonight was one of, if not the most, cumbersome night of his life. The team - _his_ team didn't have faith in him as their leader. If he was being honest, he didn't have much faith in himself at this point.

True, the team had forgiven his secrecy and, once again, accepted him as leader. However, his conscious remained ill at ease. Was he truly wrong for withholding the tip he'd received from Sportsmaster? Ultimately, the discovery of said tip led to mutiny and paranoia. And yet, honesty was a pivotal pillar amongst atlantean philosophy. He also found the concept of such 'selective honesty' abhorrent.

And so Aqualad sat atop his navy bed, alone in his quarters, disheartened and mystified.

_Perhaps I should return to Shayeris. I am without confidence, nor understanding. In this state, I am in no position to lead this team-_

Kaldur's thoughts were interrupted by an abrupt set of raps on his door. Rising gracefully to his feet, he called out. "You may enter."

The stainless steel door slid open, revealing a fair haired archer.

"Artemis? Is something the matter?" Aqualad questioned, concern delicately lacing his words.

"No! No, everything's fine. I just..." Artemis replied, nervous. She wrung her hands as she continued. "I wanted to apologize for the way I acted towards you. You didn't deserve that. You were only trying to look out for us. I-I see that now."

"I handled a difficult situation poorly - you are entitled to your feelings on the matter. No apology is necessary, Artemis." Kaldur replied, his atlantean lilt made his words sound like the serene current of the ocean; what she'd imagine silk to sound like.

"Maybe that would be true...if my reaction was for the right - well, not the right reasons, exactly, but the pertinent reasons. The appropriate reasons..." Artemis trailed off, searching fruitlessly for the right words.

"Artemis, I am afraid I do not understand." Kaldur said honestly.

Artemis laughed. "Yeah, I'm not doing a great job of expressing myself here. I don't have a lot of experience with this sort of thing."

"'This sort of thing'?"

Artemis ignored Aqualad's question as a pale pink permeated her cheeks - entirely _without_ her permission, for the record.

"Kaldur, I, um, I - Oh, fuck it." Artemis snapped frustratedly, hastily crossing the distance between them. In the blink of an eye, Artemis' lips met his - her hands entangling themselves in his platinum hair.

Logic faded away as they kissed for an blissful, immeasurable moment. When the shock wore off, the archer pulled her face a few inches away from his. However, she left he hands where they had slid from his hair, down to rest on his muscular shoulders. She pointedly averted her eyes from his, finding his chest instead - almost glaring at it. Yet, her voice was soft as she spoke.

"I wasn't upset because you didn't trust the team. I was upset that you didn't trust me. I-I care so much for you," Artemis' face lit crimson as she uttered this. "it hurt to think you believed I could be the mole."

Two finger's found their way under her chin, lifting her gaze to his.

"I never believed it was you." Kaldur stated seriously, but with a gentleness innate to the atlantean.

"Why not?"

"If you were the mole it would break my heart. I refuse to accept that fate is so cruel to do so twice in one year."

Artemis cocked a blonde eyebrow, smirking. "You're going to have to explain that statement someday. _Soon_."

"I intend to..._soon_." Kaldur replied, a pleased smile playing at the corners of his lips.

Pale, luminescent green met intense charcoal as they leaned in for a kiss for the second time that night and, hopefully, the second of many times to come.

A single thought echoed faintly in Kaldur's mind,

_Perhaps I've found my understanding..._

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><p><strong>Thanks for reading! Please review! :D<strong>


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